Sousa Mónica, Brás-Silva Carmen, Leite-Moreira Adelino
Universidade do Porto, Porto.
Acta Med Port. 2009 May-Jun;22(3):291-8. Epub 2009 Jul 15.
As a growing number of people suffer from obesity, understanding the mechanisms by which various hormones and neurotransmitters have influence on energy balance has been the subject of intensive research. Recent experimental studies have implicated leptin as a crucial controller of body weight. Leptin is a 167-aminoacid peptide hormone, which is mainly produced by adipocytes, and its levels in the circulation are increased in proportion to fat mass. Circulating leptin conveys information to the hypothalamus regarding the amount of energy stored in adipose tissue, suppressing appetite and affecting energy expenditure. Considerable evidence shows that this hormone is also involved in the regulation of several physiological processes such as reproduction, angiogenesis, immunity, hematopoiesis and bone remodelling. Leptin acts through leptin receptors that are ubiquitously distributed and hence explain the pleiotropic roles of leptin. In the present review, we will summarize the recent developments in the leptin field, with particular attention to aspects related with physiological and molecular mechanisms regulating energy homeostasis, as well as their implications in the pathophysiology of weight disorders.
随着越来越多的人患有肥胖症，了解各种激素和神经递质影响能量平衡的机制已成为深入研究的课题。最近的实验研究表明瘦素是体重的关键控制因子。瘦素是一种由167个氨基酸组成的肽类激素，主要由脂肪细胞产生，其在循环中的水平与脂肪量成正比增加。循环中的瘦素将有关储存在脂肪组织中的能量数量的信息传递给下丘脑，抑制食欲并影响能量消耗。大量证据表明，这种激素还参与调节多种生理过程，如生殖、血管生成、免疫、造血和骨重塑。瘦素通过广泛分布的瘦素受体发挥作用，因此解释了瘦素的多效性作用。在本综述中，我们将总结瘦素领域的最新进展，特别关注与调节能量稳态的生理和分子机制相关的方面，以及它们在体重紊乱病理生理学中的意义。
